Anointing

 What a great time we had at Loaves and Hotdishes on Wednesday night! There was lots of great food, conversations, and the ambience was exquisite. I think at our next one, we should include foot washing for the guests who come. Who is willing to be a host? Who would be finding an excuse not to come because they would have to let someone else wash their feet? Back in the day, in Jesus' time, there really wasn't shoes as we have them today, much less socks, so feet would get dirty. And it was hard to hide them under the table because most homes didn't have table and chairs, everyone sat on the ground, sometimes supported by cushions, and your feet were a lot closer and to be seen by everyone. And in that culture, the host wasn't responsible for washing their guests feet, so everyone can relax. No free person washed another free persons feet, they may be attended by their own slave or servant, but mostly they washed their own. But it was the hosts job to offer water for their guests so that they may clean up and get the dust off. 

So Jesus (Creator Sets Free) is invited to Simon's (One Who Hears) house for a meal. In that time, a person who is seen as ritually clean (kosher) did not invite those who weren't clean to their homes. I interpret that though the Pharisees and Jesus and his disciples were often at odds, the Pharisees saw Jesus as a practicing Jew, one who kept the commandments. Whether or not Simon just simply forgot to offer Jesus water or tried to be disrespectful in a small way, Simon did invite Jesus to his house to break bread together so he didn't think that eating with Jesus would make him unclean. 

In the days were doors weren't locked and security systems weren't around, in came a woman to attend to Jesus. As I said, free people didn't wash other free persons feet. This woman was an outcast, non-kosher, not a slave to for her to wash Jesus feet, it was an act of devotion. There wasn't anything in the Jewish religious practice that equated that washing a religious persons feet was a way to forgiveness or redemption. The expression that is still around today, "kissing his feet" probably comes from this story. Again, not a religious practice, but an act of devotion. In this act where Jesus allows the woman to touch him and bathe his feet, he is making himself unclean by having contact with this outcast. We don't know her sin or the reason her ways were broken, there's more than one reason for women to be outcasts, not just having to do with adultery or prostitution  which it was often interpreted as. 

All gospels have this story in them. The other three gospels have this story appear right before Jesus goes into Jerusalem as his anointing for his death and resurrection. Luke tells this story near the beginning of the gospel for some reason. I think it is because Luke sees Jesus and his ministry as more than a prelude to the death and resurrection, but shows these stories and his ministry of forgiving people early on is a central part to who Jesus is and why he came.

Jesus, in the Gospel of John, has Jesus washing his disciples' feet, even Judas Iscariot who betrayed him, to show that humility is a the road, the way of following Jesus. Anointing can be an act of forgiveness now, to receive or to give, and it is also a blessing and a sign of trust in those who are anointed. I do have a washbasin and a towel up here if anyone would like to wash another's feet or have their own feet washed. We will be anointing each other today, for forgiveness and/or blessing. And we can show devotion at this time by maybe giving a special donation to the organization or person who we believe is sharing the gospel in our community, country, or world today. 

Let us be servants to all and share in Jesus' ministry by forgiving those who seek to mend their broken ways. Amen.